President Laura Fernández lashed out at lawmakers opposing the National Electricity System Harmonization Bill, calling them a “bunch of communists” and accusing them of “spreading misinformation” about the initiative’s consequences. According to the president, the bill is necessary to strengthen the country’s electricity generation capacity, attract foreign investment, and respond to rising energy demand.
“You already know what communism and the left do to countries — they destroy everything in their path,” Fernández said during the press conference following the Governing Council meeting.
The president questioned the stance taken by lawmakers from the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) and the Frente Amplio, both of which have expressed opposition to the bill. The measure cleared its first legislative debate with 27 votes in favor and 24 against, but its prospects in the second debate appear dim: final passage requires 38 of the 57 lawmakers’ votes because the bill affects the powers of autonomous institutions.
“What we have here is a bunch of communists,” Fernández said, arguing that opposition could push the country toward electricity supply problems like those experienced by Cuba and Venezuela. The president said she “hoped communism would disappear from Costa Rica,” referring to lawmakers opposed to the bill, whom she described as lazy and as enemies of the people.
During her remarks, Fernández dismissed claims that the bill would weaken the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), pointing to the strengthening of various markets that have been liberalized in the past.
She reiterated her criticism of opponents, saying she was defending the public from “the lies of Frente Amplio or the political sham of the PLN, which, thankfully, has now made its position crystal clear and declared, ‘We are also communists.’ I believe they are practically ready to join Frente Amplio, as it appears that José María Villalta is also the leader of that party.”
The government also gave the floor to representatives from various industrial and commercial sectors that support the administration’s proposal. Despite criticizing lawmakers who voted against the bill in the first debate, the president instructed her Minister of the Presidency, Rodrigo Chaves, to withdraw it, urging opposing legislators to reflect on and reconsider their position.
“Only rivers cannot reverse course. Don Rodrigo, let’s draft the decree together to withdraw the bill. I believe we must withdraw it so that PLN and Frente Amplio can reconsider what they are doing to the country on this issue,” she said.
“They can study the bill and global trends and understand why Costa Rica cannot fall behind. Let’s withdraw it to allow for a pause ahead of the second debate, so that if they have something they failed to say during the last four years of negotiation and analysis — something that makes sense and can be added to the record…,” Fernández said.
